Annick Goutal
Luxury fragrance, online boutique
Background
Annick Goutal is an Upscale Perfumery house, based in Paris, worn by celebrities worldwide. In 1985, the association with the Taittinger Group put the house on the map alongside the famed Champagne House and Baccarat Crystal. This made a significant business launch possible in France and abroad, securing Annick Goutal a place as a true Luxury Perfumery House. In 1996 new fragrances such as Grand Amour, Eau du Sud Petite Cherie, Ce Soir ou Jamais and Eue du Fier were then created, allowing the movement into fragrances for the home (candles, perfumed pebbles & ambience diffuser’s etc). Since September 2005, Starwood Capital Group acquired Taittinger Group, developing Annick Goutal parfums respecting the criterions of the niche perfumery market.
Challenge
Annick Goutal was looking to expand its business into online retailing, both in France and across Europe. As this was uncharted territory for them, they needed a strong partner that would work with them to ensure the quality of their brand was not lost in the move to make them a leading luxury e-tailer. Their complex pricing structure across Europe meant that each country’s ‘boutique’ needed to have it’s own pricing structure. As a luxury boutique their strong sense of service also meant they wanted to offer a huge range of payment options to cater for each country’s specific purchase methods, such as live bank transfers, direct debits and credit card transactions.
Solution
Translating a successful luxury boutique brand into a successful e-commerce experience takes a great deal of listening, understanding and planning. This is one of the most technically advanced luxury boutique sites in the world, offering the client a fully integrated Content Management System with multiple language, boutique and currency options. For intelligent selling the customer integration offers advanced user recognition and tracking, a resolution responsive layout system and content managed flash.
Both the customer and Annick Goutal are protected from fraudulent transactions by sophisticated anti-fraud checking at the end of the payment process.
Integrating stock checking fed directly from the logistics company ensures products are not oversubscribed and accurate shipment tracking across multiple countries and regions offers customers more information for piece of mind.
Analysis of customer browsing trends and buying habits through seasons or a specific promotion’s life cycle is available as customer actions are captured throughout the site and displayed in the ‘back office’, enabling Annick Goutal the chance to ‘see’ their customers as a whole and understand their buying habits
